Day 2 – Marrakech

​Another day and another beautiful morning in Marrakech. Waking up this morning it is clearly obvious that we were in for a super hot day as I pretty much sweated through my clothes during breakfast at 8.30am. Regardless, we wanted to explore the city again and check out any sights we missed on day 1. The agenda today was La Momounia (The hotel where Sex and the City 2 was filmed) as we heard from a reliable source ( my mum ) that you don’t need to stay there to walk the hotel and gardens, but you do need to be dressed appropriately and smart … neither of which we are very accustomed to this trip. So, we went and checked, and right enough, no singlets allowed so it turned swiftly into an afternoon plan.

​We had heard a lot about La Jardin Majorelle – aka, The Yves Saint Laurent Gardens and wanted to see what the fuss was about as it was voted the number 1 Instagram spot in Marrakech. We walked there which took 45 minutes as it’s about 5km from our Riad and when we got there, there was a huge queue to get in and a 70 Dirham fee (about $8NZD pp) . We paid it of course as we had just spent the last hour walked in 38 degrees to get there and overall it was pretty enjoyable and easily recognizable why it is instagrammable

From the lush botantical gardens to the bright primary coloured buildings and pottery located around the main museum, it is perfect for snapping some beautiful pictures and be prepared to see A LOT of photoshoots taking place -  some definitely more classy than others. Make sure you also go into the small boutique there which gives home to a non-profit organisation selling clothes and bags which are truly stunning! 
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After a few snaps I was ready for ice-cream and to cool down so the café on the corner seemed like the best bet and for 2 ice-creams and a coffee it cost 65Dirham – about $7NZD.
From there we walked back through the souks, again enjoying getting somewhat lost in all the smaller alley ways and following the crowds or meandering through to look at some shiny trinkets along the way. We stopped to buy some fruit along the way as in the heat it is near impossible to eat proper food and by this point (13000 steps in) getting home was on my main priority list. **Travel tip** - the water here is not safe, for the locals it’s great but for us tourists we get sick, quickly. So, only eat fruit if you can peel it yourself or make sure to wash it first in fresh water – definitely better safe than sorry for this one and there was no way I was getting food poisoning AGAIN!

After freshening up, putting on some good-looking clothes (shorts are welcomed until 6pm) and munching on some beautifully washed fresh peached from the market, we made our way back to La Momounia for a drink and a walk. Well…we got in and managed the walk but for $23NZD for a small beer, we opted out staying for it. It’s just not worth it when we are traveling for 12 months and already spending a massive amount of cash.

We wandered through the winding streets and came across the restaurant ‘Zeitoun’ which translate to something to do with olives. The meal was nice, we ate a couple of mains, few drinks and a starter to share which came to 302Dirham – about $49NZD. It’s ok, but there is definitely cheaper places to eat and street food is a must, we just couldn’t be bothered with the heat, smell and people trying to sell us stuff in the central markets.​

​We also opted for a day tour again with Morocco Inspiring tours for the morning before our flight to the Atlas Mountains and surrounding valleys. It’s costing about $110NZD pp which is super pricey but Abdul our driver, who is incredible, has also offered us our Airport transfer and it includes our food for the day so overall, it’s not too bad. Watch this space and I will explain more tomorrow with how it went.